The Launch of the Rocket
by somethingmeaningful
Summary: A story of the origins of the infamous Team Rocket
1. Chapter 1

Professor Oak drove the jeep slowly. I had no idea where we were going, and it seemed as if he didn't either. Oak had aged since our first meeting 3 years ago.

His hair had lost any color that it had, and he had resigned to wearing rimless glasses now. He continued his research, and was now trying to figure if the abilities of certain Pokemon could solve Woppal's energy issues. He had moved here while his wife was sick and the only hospital that could possibly save her was here in Freshmoon City, the capital of the Woppal region. He had continued his research here, discovering and publishing many theories regarding the relationships found between trainers and their Pokemon.

His wife's sickness was actually how we met. My mother was a nurse that was assigned to Mrs. Oak. The professor and my mother became close out of necessity; he was there constantly, so they were somewhat required to interact on a daily basis. Mom had mentioned me to the Professor and he invited me to join him at his laboratory the next week.

I had walked to giant laboratory that doubled as his house the following Wednesday.

Freshmoon City was a relatively small city if you took away the medical center and Professor Oak's lab. The founders of the city had originally moved here because they needed to find a clearing in the forest to settle. The Woppal regions was one of the most diverse, and Freshmoon City was directly within the Woppal Woods. Over the years it became the biggest metropolis in Woppal. Most of the citizens though were workers in the hospitals and researchers working for Oak.

The lab was a large green building that had a red and white Pokeball at its apex. In its original glory, the lab was modern marvel, but now, it paled in comparison to the amazing feats of the several hospitals located throughout the city.

I walked through the doors and was greeted by a large woman with black hair and glasses. Her glasses were so thick you couldn't see her eyes. She asked me, "Do you have an appointment?" in a voice that I wouldn't have attributed to her. It was really high pitched and squeaky.

"I think I do," I started sheepishly, "my name is Cameron. Cameron Pitch."

The receptionist typed in my name into her computer and then said to me, "okay. Take this," she said as she handed me a plastic green card, the size of a credit card, "and go to the elevators. Swipe it there and it will take you to Professor Oak's office."

I thanked her with a head nod and walked in the general direction that she had pointed when she referred to the elevators. I was greeted by a man in a green suit. I handed him my card and he swiped it and we were off.

The elevators stopped after what felt like a 10 minute ride. The elevator door opened slowly and let me through. I thanked the bellhop and walked off.

I was now in a large room with bookshelves lining all of the walls, from floor to ceiling. An older looking man was sitting at a desk reading something on his computer in the far end of the room. I assumed this was Professor Oak, and I approached the desk. I was about halfway there when he arose from behind his desk and greeted me.

"Cameron?"

"Professor Oak?"

With this, he shook my hand. His grip was strong and his hands were extremely ashy.

"Your mother has told me so much about you!" he paused, "don't worry, it has been all good. Now, she has told me that you are interested in training?"

I was. I had wanted to become a trainer ever since school had started. I hated school and couldn't see myself staying there for what seemed like the rest of my life, so the only way out of it would be to become a trainer.

"I am. Very much so."

Oak's face lit up, "splendid! Now, how old are you my boy?"

"17."

"Good. You are the perfect age then," Oak said sentimentally, "I once had someone much younger than you. I have learned from that."

I stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

Oak noticed this, and then started again, "Oh well, let us begin shall we? You are familiar with the basics of Pokemon, yes?"

I nodded. My father had been a Pokemon writer before he died. I learned everything I had ever known about Pokemon from him.

"Grand. Let's get you started then."

He walked briskly to a door on the side of the room. The door opened automatically as we approached and I followed him into what appeared to be a private laboratory.

Oak continued to lead me when he started, "I will give you a Pokedex. It will record every Pokemon you encounter on your journey, and will give you any information you may need about an unfamiliar Pokemon. You will also receive a starting Pokemon for your journey. Next, I will give you 30 Pokeballs to catch Pokemon. Finally, you will be getting a new bike to make movement easier."

This was a lot to take in so I just answered with a simple, "okay."

Oak finally stopped at a giant machine along a wall in the lab. It had a screen to the left and what appeared to be a key board below the screen. Next to it was a tube with a clear window and a plate in the middle of it. Oak pressed the key board screen and the machine lit up.

"May I have your hand?"

I gave Oak my hand, and he put it on the screen. A flash of light went up and down my hand scanned it from left to right and back again. The top screen began to start showing a bunch of names and scroll through them all.

"Come, this may take a while. Let's get you your supplies."

I followed the professor and we stopped at various points around the lab. He gave me everything he had said I would get. Surprising everything fit in my backpack that I had brought.

We returned to the screen and it was still scrolling through the names.

"What's it doing?" I asked curiously.

Oak stared at the machine, "this machine can read your personality and can see who you are by reading your hand. It's one of my best inventions."

The list of names began to get smaller and smaller until it was one page. From there it got much smaller. It finally stopped. There was only one name.

"Cacnea live in deserts with virtually no rainfall. It battles by swinging its thick, spiked arms. Once a year, a yellow flower blooms."

The machine spat out at us. Then the plate began to move up and then moved down. It turned and had a red and white Pokeball at the center of it. The window opened Oak grabbed the Pokeball. He handed it to me.

"This was your best match. Cacnea. Learn from it and train him with care. Are you ready?"

I was so overwhelmed at the moment that I could only nod while having my newly acquired Pokemon in my hands.


	2. Chapter 2

That was my first encounter with Oak. That was over 3 years ago. Now we were in a jeep on a desolate road.

I knew we may be on the road for a long time. Woppal was a large region. I had traveled all across the region in the past 3 years. I had caught over 150 Pokemon and seen over 400. My team and I, lead by my Cacturne now, had defeated every gym in the region, and I had defeated the Elite 4 and had been crowned the Pokemon Master for the Woppal Region. I was living in Casaville accepting any challengers. Oak had called me and asked me to return to Freshmoon as quickly as possible. I did, and within a day, we left the city.

Oak hadn't told me much, other than that he needed my help to keep order and peace. Vague.

We left Freshmoon and were about 2 hours away from the city. I hadn't seen another car on the road we were on for at least 45 minutes.

The terrain surrounding us was rocky and tan. The Woppal Mountain Ridge was cutting across the skyline. I remembered climbing those mountains. That's where I caught my Natu. I still have him, now only as Xatu. I scanned the peaks to see if I could make out Yellowtown. I knew I wouldn't, it was much farther along the trail than where we were at. I looked out the other side of the jeep and could see some of the Great Woppal Forest starting. That was Cacturne's favorite area. I caught Diglett there. Diglett was the toughtest one to train, but when he evolved to Dugtrio, I used him whenever I was in trouble because he would always come through for me.

Oak cleared his throat and I looked at him. His wife had died shortly after I left Freshmoon City. He had decided to stay there, but he was depressed about his wife's passing. He took a break from research for about 6 months, until Governor Richard personally asked him to solve the energy crisis Woppal was suffering from. Oak dove right in and had been working on that since.

I turned my head and now was looking straight forward. Everything began to blur together and I was slowly zoning out.

The jeep quickly veered to the right onto a dirt road. I was thrown from my daydream and now looked at the dust rising from the side of the jeep. I looked forward and could see a small opening in the Woppal Forest's beginnings. I assumed that's where we were going to.

We approached the start of the forest and Oak quickly turned the jeep to the left. We were now driving along the side of the woods and my stomach was turning. We stayed on the outer boundary for about 70 miles.

Then, the dirt that was surrounding us began to turn into green grass. The dirt road turned into a simple set of parallel lines around the grass. A large body of water was coming up on our left and I could see many Pokemon near the edge of the water and quite a few in the water. The forest was beginning to let up and the trees were becoming sparse. Then we came across a large fence. I noticed immediately a Team Rocket "R" on all the panels of the fence. We were driving next to the fence for nearly 20 miles before we came upon a gate.

"ROCKET CITY WELCOMES YOU!" was across the top.

The gate itself was a giant R and C embellished on two large metal panels. The jeep felt like a toy car next to this gate. There was road going to the gate, and I glanced at Oak. Why didn't he take the road? What a weird old man.

The jeep stopped at the gate and slowly, it creaked open. We drove through and it closed quickly.

Looking behind us, the gate looked the same as it did on the outside. Only the banner read "COME BACK TO ROCKET CITY ANY TIME YOU WISH!"

I looked forward again and saw the road winding through some trees that I assumed were part of the Woppal Forest. We stayed on this road for a while until we came what appeared to be an abandoned house. A large abandoned house.

Oak stopped the car and hopped out of the jeep. I followed, but with extreme hesitation. What were we doing in Team Rocket city in a giant abandoned house?

We walked up the walkway and finally up the steps to the front door. Oak rang the doorbell, and I heard a shuffling from within the house. I was officially ready for battle because I didn't know what would be opening the door.

I the heard some muffled voices coming from behind the door and then the door began to open slowly. It stopped with only a crack opened, and two heads popped in the little opening.

After examining us, the door swung open, "Oak! My good man!" was yelled at us.

The two heads now had a full body. One was a short tubby man with a happy face. He wore glasses and had gray hair. He had a pair of navy pants on and a pink shirt. He wore a grand floor length silver coat. He was the one who had yelled at us and then proceeded to welcome us into the house. The other man was a tall skinny fellow. His hair was short and brown. His eyes were wide open and it felt as if he was staring at me at all times. His pants were black and he had a red shirt on with a white coat, similar to the other mans.

The inside of the house was much different than the outside. It was bright and cheerful and full of pictures. Pictures lined the walls and the tables and nearly everything had a picture on it. It was of the two men together with either a person or some Pokemon. This place was so interesting.

"What brings you to Rocket City?" the taller asked.

Oak breathed to start his sentence, but then was cut off by the shorter one, "but before you answer, introductions are in order. Who is this young man?"

Oak began to breath again when the taller cut him off with "but first, you must follow us onto the deck and tell me if you need anything, refreshments, snacks, restrooms? That drive from Freshmoon is such a long drive."

Both men were so jolly. I wouldn't have guessed based on the outside of the house.

"Just a cup of black tea if you have it," Professor Oak requested.

"Same here," I added. I didn't really like tea, but I didn't want to trouble these old men who I hadn't met, so I just made it easy for them.

"Wonderful!" the taller began, "just wait on the deck and we'll be there in a minute."

Oak lead the way and we sat at a large table looking out over the forest. I could see a body of water somewhere in the distance. I looked up above and saw the sky. Every now and then, an indiscernible Pokemon flew above. It was an extremely clear day and I could see so much.

"Two cups of tea! And here is the sugar and the crème," the shorter said as he placed the tray in the middle of Oak and I. I grabbed the tea and put 5 spoonfuls of sugar in the warm drink. I stirred and sipped until I was content. Oak did the same.

"Now, who are you?" the taller asked with large bugged eyes extremely close to my face.

I was in the middle of sipping my tea, so Oak came in, "This is Cameron. Cameron Pitch. He is currently the Regional Pokemon Master in Woppal."

"Ah! So you're the one!" the shorter began, "I knew I had seen your face somewhere before now. The television woman had interview you or something. That is beyond the point however. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Cameron!"

"Agreed!" the taller agreed.

"Cameron, this is Stewart," the taller nodded, "and this is Neil," the shorter nodded, "and they are the Rocket brothers."

"Most certainly we are. Neil and Stewart Rocket. The founders, creators, and owners of Rocket City, Rocket University, and," Stewart paused, "Team Rocket."


	3. Chapter 3

Team Rocket? What were we doing here? I placed my tea down as quickly as I could and reached for Cacturne's Pokeball.

"Cameron, don't," Oak ordered calmly, "they are the founders, not the leaders."

"If we may defend ourselves," Neil looked to me before he continued.

I looked at Oak, and he nodded. I looked back at Stewart and Neil.

Stewart took this as confirmation to go on. "You see, as Professor Oak said, we're simply the founders of Team Rocket. We have nothing to organization today."

"Giovanni, as I am sure you know, is the current leader of Team Rocket" Neil continued Stewart's story. "Shall we continue our story?"

"Go ahead." I was intrigued by what was going on.

Stewart's voice began the story. His voice was nasal and had a trace of an accent, but I couldn't determine what accent it was.

"Neil and I are, as you know, brothers. Twins actually. We grew up in Casaville with our parents and we were surrounded by Pokemon our entire lives. We were a wealthy family, our father was the mayor of Casaville for quite a time."

Neil picked up the story, "When we were of age, we went to the University of Kanto. There, we met Professor Oak, only he was Samuel at the time. Anyway, we all became close friends and graduated at the top of our class at UK. While at university, Stewart and I promised each other that we would create a glorious city based upon research of Pokemon and build a university there."

"After graduating, we went to our father in hopes of receiving some assistance. He provided us with this large piece of land. It was a gift to him from Governor Richard. He then gave us one million pokebucks. With it, we built a grand city within a fenced community. We allowed all native Pokemon to inhabit our lands and we opened the doors to any one curious about Pokemon. We never destroyed any natural habitat and built around the landscape."

"We named our new town Gerald T. Rocket City, after our father. We built Rocket University and built up our faculty with our friends and professors from Kanto, including Samuel. We then invited the most prominent researchers to live here to study, and we named them Team Rocket. With that, Rocket City was founded. Over time, families began moving here, and our population grew. We created a gym and attracted everyone of all ages and sizes to challenge Stewart and I."

"The glory days of Rocket City are some of the best," Stewart added. He then paused before he started the next part of the story. "The researchers of course had children, so to accommodate, Neil and I created the Rocket School. We taught grades 1 through 12 and tried to create the next great trainers, researchers, doctors, professors and people."

"We taught one specific student. Both Stewart and I agreed on him: he was bound for greatness. His parents were some of the most prominent researchers in Rocket City and his father held a seat on the city's leader table. His mother was incredibly motivated woman who had made remarkable strides in the world of Pokemon psychology."

"Yes, Giovanni seemed as if he would be the next great thing to come from Rocket City. I remember fondly his grade's 5th year graduation. After 5 years in our school, we gave our students their first Pokemon. It's a grand ceremony actually. Our researchers went and caught 18 Pokemon for our 18 students graduating from 5th year. Their parents would come and watch the excitement of their children receiving a new friend. Nothing made both Neil and I happier than seeing these young children filled with such joy."

"We placed all the Pokeballs in a large black bag and had each student reach in and grab their new Pokemon. A lottery basically. Giovanni was, if I remember correctly, 5th in line. He approached slowly and shyly, such as his nature, and grabbed one. He pulled it out frightened. I encouraged him to see what it was, and he said shakily, 'come on out!'"

"Meowth. He had gotten a Meowth. He was so thrilled that he scooped up the Pokemon and hugged him and was so happy. He returned Meowth to its Pokeball and basically skipped off the stage. He ran to his parents in the crowd and hugged them both. They all were all so jubilant. At the end of the ceremony, Giovanni's father came and asked if Neil and I could be in a picture. I will always remember their happiness."

"Soon after that, Giovanni's mother became pregnant. Giovanni wasn't entirely thrilled with the aspect of having a sibling. I could tell. The following year, his grades started to dip; nothing dramatic, but still noticeable. After his sister was born, Giovanni was fine though. He was extremely protective of her, and I can remember when she started school, he was in year 10 and he made sure no one picked on her. He was a magnificent brother."

"However, when he reached year 12, everything changed."

Stewart and Neil looked at each other at that moment, both not wanting to continue the story at this point. Neil sighed, and volunteered to go on.

"Every year 12 student at the Rocket School was given the opportunity to decide what they wanted to do. Their opportunities here were vast: they could go to Rocket University, or any University in the Pokeverse, they could start working at Team Rocket, a few chose to become teachers at the Rocket School, or even become trainers and venture out or work in the gym. In a previous meeting with Giovanni, I was highly aware that he had wanted to go out to the world and train. He had caught only 3 more Pokemon, and he trained them to be incredibly strong."

Stewart then chimed in, "he won nearly every school tournament we had. He had an incredible training style. He would work so hard with each of his Pokemon. Here in Rocket City, we have a vast array of terrains and types of Pokemon. Giovanni would go around the entire city and take on any wild Pokemon he could find, at all times of the night."

"He was quite determined to take on the rest of the region. But, his parents thought otherwise. When he had told them that he wanted to become a trainer, they told him flatly that he couldn't do that, and that no son of theirs would be a wanderer. Of course, we were disappointed, but we couldn't say anything; we aren't his parents. They more or less forced Giovanni to go to Rocket University. I could tell he wasn't entirely happy."

"Giovanni was under such pressure at RU. His mother wanted him to become a scientist, researcher, something she deemed as great. His father often forced him to keep in line with their 'family ideals' as he called them. Their family was a very visible one in Rocket City."

"One day, Giovanni decided that he wanted to bring up the idea of him becoming a trainer again. His parents once again shot him down. This wasn't the answer that he was looking for. Giovanni went on a rampage around his house. He destroyed the entire house and it quickly was engulfed in flames."

"At the time, Rocket City was still relatively small, so then whole population surrounded the house within no time. Pokemon were trying to put out the fire and some of the men were attempting to go and save the family. However, by the time the house was put out, it was all ash. It was assumed the entire family had died."

"However, Giovanni had taken his unconscious sister and ran from the house before it collapsed. He ran to my house and frantically knocked at my back door. When I saw him, I was terribly worried. His face was scared and he smelled of smoke. He carried his sister and put her on my couch. 'Mr. Rocket,' he gasped, 'what have I done?' At that moment, I knew Giovanni could never return. I couldn't be mad at him. He simply was suppressed and pressurized. Anytime you pressure something to a great extent, it's bound to explode. I told him that Stewart and I would take care of him and his sister. I promised to not speak a word of what happened, and to keep his reputation safe. He didn't like this plan however. 'People will talk, they always do Mr. Rocket.' I knew it would be true. Giovanni wasn't the friendliest in Rocket City and people misinterpreted that as him being socially inept and incapable. 'I need your help.' I couldn't say no. I silently agreed to helping him escape Rocket City and taking care of his sister."

"Neil called me over and he told me the plan. He would transport Giovanni outside of the city and I would stay and take care of his sister. Neil would see Giovanni off and assure that he was okay. He would then come back, and he and I would raise Victoria, his sister. We would say that Giovanni and both of his parents were killed in fire and that Victoria was saved by Neil's Alakazam."

"Giovanni and I were in a remote location on the other side of the fence, and I gave him some money, and hugged him. He was crying as we were hugging. I knew he didn't want any of this happen. But he knew that the consequences were laid before him. The last thing I told him was that I loved him and that I knew he would do great things."

Both Neil and Stewart looked exhausted. I could tell this story was something neither wanted to discuss. I felt bad for making them tell the story. Never had I expected something like this.

"That's enough for now. We'll finish this story later. It's quite a long one I assure you. In the meantime, please enjoy your stay here at Rocket Place." Stewart barely said above a whisper.

"If you'll please excuse Stewart and I, we are very tired. Feel free to walk around the city. You are more than welcome to catch anything you may want, just try to not cause any damage to the natural surroundings, we love it here oh so much."

With that, Stewart and Neil retired to the house. How strange it was to learn about Giovanni. For my brief encounters with him, I was never aware of his past. I looked at Oak. He was staring out into the wilderness that surrounded the incredibly deceiving house.

"I always hate hearing that story." Oak's voice was gravely. "His father and I were incredibly close."

I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. I looked down at my tea. I hadn't touched while I was listening to the story the Rockets were telling. Oak had finished his and was now gripping his cup in both of hands, with his elbows resting on his thighs.

"Let's take a walk."


	4. Chapter 4

Upon Oak's suggestion, I released my Pokemon to enjoy the open air. Cacturne immediately began to go from shrub to shrub trying to hide from us and scare us. Xatu stayed on the deck of Rocket Place and was soaking the plentiful sun. Dugtrio was enjoying the new soil around him. I released my other three, Lanturn, Heracross, and Chandelure. Lanturn went for the lake that I had since learned connected to the sea we were driving next to earlier. Heracross climbed onto a tree and began to eat. Chandelure went high into the canopy of the trees. I loved my team. I knew the first time I caught each of them that they would be my final six. The newest member was Lanturn, and he had been in my six for almost a year and a half.

The forest really was an amazing surrounding. I looked around and saw so many Pokemon in their natural state. Caterpies were on the ground crawling for food, Pidgeys were in nests high above the floor of the forest, I saw Lanturn playing with a few Milotics.

"This is a great place isn't it? I visited Neil and Stewart here with no intention of staying, but after only a few hours here, I told them that I wanted to live here. They gave me job at Rocket University and lived on the other side of that lake. I met my wife here. She had lived in Canalave City, but had come to Rocket City to follow her favorite professor. She worked as an administrative assistant, and I saw her almost every day."

I never really knew much else of Oak's wife other than a few times I was with my mother at the hospital, or if I was over at his house for whatever reason. This was interesting to learn. I nodded with interest at points to assure him I was listening.

"We dated for only two weeks before I asked her to marry me."

"You didn't waste any time did you?" I joked.

Oak simply shook his head and paused, "no. I knew from the moment I met her that there was something much more than attraction there. There was understanding. At least on my part. I wasn't scared about it. I was nervous, but not scared. She must of felt it too because she said yes even before I finished asking her."

I hadn't a clue what Oak was talking about. To me, it sounded like he was doing nothing but contradicting himself. But, I didn't want to say anything. I could tell this was something he held dear to his heart. I nodded and searched for something to change the subject.

"You want to see the old University?"

Oak must have read my mind.

"Sure."

I called back all of my team and began to follow Oak. He was headed back towards the house, or what I thought was the house. I really didn't have any sense of direction here. Everything was so big and yet so subtle. The landscapes began to blend together and I was thankful for Oak.

The leaves were singing under the weight of our feet and within a few minutes, I could see the rickety old house once again.

"Do you have a jacket?"

"It's in the car, I think. Do I need it?" The weather was warm. I didn't really see why I needed a jacket. I looked down at what I was wearing. It had changed so much since I became the Pokemon Master for Woppal. I can remember when I thought that jeans and a t-shirt were an annoyance to wear. Now, I had to present an image for all of Woppal. There had been moments when I didn't really like the fame that came with my title. The tradition in the Woppal region was to give the Pokemon Master a named based upon the character of their personality. "Cameron the True." Whatever that meant. But from that point onward, I was no longer Cameron Pitch, but Cameron the True. I would carry that title with me for the rest of my life. This was a reason why the fame sometimes came unwarranted.

"You should probably grab it. We may be late, and it gets cold here at night."

I still didn't think I would need one, but I trusted the experience of Oak.

We walked up onto the deck of Rocket Place, and we walked through the same path we had entered. It was strange how much I had learned from this place in a matter of a few hours. This was where "the greatest threat" to the Pokeverse had begun. This home to a couple old, eccentric brothers.

The jeep was where we had parked it, and Oak unlocked the passenger door. I grabbed my coat jacket from the backseat.

As I slipped it on, I could see Oak begin to walk down the road perpendicular to the driveway of Rocket Place. I fumbled with the armholes as I tried to catch up with him and put my jacket on simultaneously. After a bit of a struggle, I had managed to get the jacket on and was walking next to Oak.

He didn't say much. In his later years he had grown much more quiet, more reflective. I think his wife's death had something to do with it.

I put my hands in the pockets of the jacket. I was wearing what I would usually wear in Casaville for battles: a dark green button-up shirt, a silver bow-tie, gray slacks, and a tan coat jacket. The best tailors in Casaville had made it for me when I became the Pokemon Master. I had grown used to it, but I smiled as I remembered my younger self, and how much he would've been opposed to this.

When Oak had called me, he told me to get to Freshmoon as quickly as possible, so I didn't have time to change. I really didn't have any time to pack anything either, at least knowingly. I flew Xatu to Freshmoon, and as soon as I had landed, Oak started the jeep, and we were off.

It was odd to think of where I was this morning in comparison to where I was at the present moment. I had a challenger this morning. Her name was Emily, I believe, but I defeated her rather quickly. Now I was wandering in a forest with the man who gave me my first Pokemon.

The silence had allowed us to cover a great amount of ground in only a few minutes. Oak had taken to wearing cowboy boots now, and their rhythmical click against the paved road was the only noise. We followed a curve in the road and I could see a large building in the distance. It was in the style of everything else in Rocket City, big and abandoned. It looked intimidating now, but as we neared it, its full height and size became fully appreciated.

As with everything in Rocket City, a large, red "R" was at the center of the front of the building. However, interlocked with it was an equally as large "U."

I guessed we were at Rocket University.

There were way too many steps leading up to the front door. After about the 34th step, we had finally reached the doors. In true Rocket City style, they were huge. The metal was cut out of the doors to read "RU" from left to right as you walked in.

Oak pushed open the U and we entered the old university. The floors were tile. I guessed that at one time they were red and white tiles, but over the years, it just turned into a dingy shade of maroon and an even dingier yellow.

I assumed we had entered the Welcome Center of the university. There was a large circular desk in the center of the large circular room. Couches were interspersed throughout the area of the room, and many other halls seemed to branch off of this hub.

I stopped to look around at the room in its entirety. There was a tall ceiling with a wall of broken windows surrounding the Welcome Center. I could see Tangelas and Bellsprouts had formed a net of vines in the spaces where the windows were broken.

As I turned my attention back to where Oak was when I stopped, I found him now nearly entering one of the hallways that branched off of this once-grand room.

"Oak!" I yelled as I started to make larger strides to where he was.

He didn't respond. He simply stood at the entrance of the hallway waiting for me. I could tell from where I was that he was…impatient? Maybe this place made him nervous.

I had started to awkwardly jog so that it seemed like I was really putting an effort in trying to get to him as quickly as possible. When I was within 10 feet, Oak started down the hallway. I really was his puppet, as I had no idea where we were going or what this abandoned school had in store for us.

Oak lead me through what felt like a maze. Left, right, left, left again, right, straight, down a flight of stairs, left. Finally, he stopped at a door.

"1167 Red Wing."

I asked the question with the obvious answer. "Is this your classroom?"

"Yes. This was my old room. I wonder if-" at that moment, Oak had pushed his entire body frame against the door. With a cloud of dust coming from where the door used to be, Oak's old room was now visible.

I looked in, and saw nothing save for what the few windows-worth of light gave. I stepped in, and felt a lot of crackling on the ground. I had nearly tripped when I heard a light switch turned behind me. Within a few seconds, the lights came on.

Turning around, I saw Oak now covered in dust standing by the entrance to the room. I looked around the ground we were standing on, and I saw rubble from the ceiling had fallen onto the floor. The chalkboard was dismantled, and the lectern was now just a desk sawed in half.

"I've seen enough. Let's go."

Oak abruptly left the room. I stumbled as the broken room was catching onto my pants. I guess the room had struck a nerve with Oak. I made it out into the hallway, and I saw Oak waiting at the end of the hallway. I caught up with him, and followed him out the way we came.

We had made it back to the Welcome Center when I realized how dark it had gotten. I guess Oak realized this. He called out his Alakazam and had him transport us back to Rocket Place.

When we had gotten back, Oak quickly recalled Alakazam and returned once again to the house.

I stood and looked out onto the varied horizon of this once great city. I then remembered that there was still an entire half of the story I hadn't heard yet. At once, I had the sudden urge to hear this from Stewart and Neil.


End file.
